July 9, 2014

APA Announces Recipient of 2014 Excellence in Librarianship Award

WASHINGTON — At the American Library Association Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, the American Psychological Association announced that Frederick Lerner, DLS, is the recipient of the 2014 APA Excellence in Librarianship Award for his significant contributions to psychology and behavioral sciences librarianship.

Lerner has recently retired following his latest role as an information scientist at the National Center for PTSD in White River Junction, Vermont. He is best known for his involvement with designing, building and maintaining the PILOTS database, the goal of which is to include all of the published literature dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health sequelae to traumatic events. The PILOTS database is used in both clinical and academic settings, both directly and indirectly. In addition to its role in improving clinical treatment and public policy, the database is heavily used by the National Center for PTSD and other institutions in preparing educational material on PTSD for combat veterans and survivors of other traumatic events, their families and friends and people with a professional need to know about PTSD such as teachers, clergy and journalists.

Enjoying a long and storied career, Lerner began as a history major at Columbia University. Following service in the U.S. Army, he returned to Columbia and earned his MLS, and later his DLS. He went on to become a reference librarian at Hamilton College, followed by an assignment running an information center on funding opportunities at the Research Foundation of the City University of New York. This was followed by a move to Vermont to serve as head of the reference services unit at the state’s Department of Libraries. Next, he spent 10 years as head of technical information services for an engineering firm before finally joining the National Center for PTSD.

Lerner embodies the spirit of the APA Excellence in Librarianship Award, recently saying, “I’ve had a variety of experiences in library work, and I’ve found the most satisfying of these to be applying my knowledge of librarianship in support of a group of people working to solve important problems in industry or public service. It’s a great feeling to know that one’s work is making a real contribution to people’s lives.”

The American Psychological Association’s Excellence in Librarianship Award was created to recognize significant contributions or research within psychology and behavioral sciences librarianship. The award, which consists of $2,500 and a commemorating plaque, was presented to Frederick Lerner, DLS, on Saturday, June 28, 2014, at the Research Committee Poster Forum during the American Library Association Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes nearly 130,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.